Inside Unmanned Systems

AUG-SEP 2018

Inside Unmanned Systems provides actionable business intelligence to decision-makers and influencers operating within the global UAS community. Features include analysis of key technologies, policy/regulatory developments and new product design.

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36 unmanned systems
inside
August/September 2018
AIR
IPP TENNESSEE
way, it will pause, Brockman said,
and contact the communications cen-
ter for permission to proceed before
crossing. The tower will be able to see
the unmanned aircraft in that it will
look different from a manned aircraft
on its radar.
"Our plan, Brockman said, "is to work
on a system—hardware and software,
docking stations charging stations—
where that drone automatically—when
its time comes—lifts off, logs in and
starts sending out signals to the com-
munication center and starts to fly that
fence line. When it sees something that
is different from the baseline—the base-
line will constantly be updated—it then
alarms and sends a signal back with a
high-resolution photo of what the prob-
lem is. Once released by the com center
it continues f lying and dispatch either
sends somebody or logs in and says
there's not a breakdown (in the fence)."
Deterioration of a runway's surface can
cause problems and items on the run-
way, like a bolt dropped from a mainte-
nance vehicle, can be dangerous if they
get sucked into the engines of a plane.
UAS will be able to see more than
their human counterparts, Brockman
said. "A drone-f lying a foot off the
pavement taking high-resolution im-
ages and comparing it to a base(line)—
will pick up the slightest imperfection
there is. It will also record changes in
topography, additional cracks. I just
became better at maintaining my run-
way. I just became safer by identifying
even the smallest particles of FOD (for-
eign object debris)."
Drones will only inspect the runways
when there is sufficient time between
f lights. Exactly what that means, how-
ever, has to be determined.
Intel, one of the IPP team's mem-
bers, plans to use its Falcon 8+ for
runway inspection—but the runway
is two miles long and it's not clear
how many passes will be needed, said
Karim Tadros, the firm's director of
business development and product
management.
"So you'll send the drone down and
back, Tadros said, that's a four-mile
path for a drone. And depending on
what speed you have to travel, so that
you ensure adequate resolution, may-
be we have to look at our fixed wing
drone, the Intel Sirius Pro."
AIR TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT
AiRXOS, a venture of GE, will be the
UAS Service Supplier (USS) for the
IPP team. USS providers are part of
the overall UAS traffic management
(UTM) system being developed by
NASA. They will manage local drone
operations and keep UAS from inter-
So you'll send the drone
down and back, that's
a four-mile path for a
drone. And depending on
what speed you have to
travel, so that you ensure
adequate resolution,
maybe we have to look at
our fixed wing drone."
Karim Tadros, director business development
and product management, Intel
"
Photo courtesy of Intel.
Intel's Falcon 8+ drone has the
ability to stay a preset distance
from the object being inspected.
RUNWAY INSPECTION
The Tennessee team is the only one
based at an airport. The capability
to integrate into the airport's control
systems is essential for both the fence-
checking use case and for a related
task—inspecting the runways and
taxiways damage and debris.